The unveiling of Benjamin Zephaniah’s Memorial Plaque and the film from his 1st memorial event will take place at Stratford Library in Newham, East London from 2-4pm on Saturday 21 March 2026 (World Poetry Day).
The event will include the film screening with talks about Benjamin and why his film is being placed in Newham.
The plaque will consist of brief text about his involvement in Newham as well as a QR code of the film. This will mean that people in the library can find out more about him and his work in a space meaningful to him.
The event will also see the launching a community film poetry project called ‘Finding My Inner Peace’. The projects aim is to inspire others to explore poetry as a medium and think about inner peace.
Some Background:
Affectionately dubbed the ‘Bard of Stratford’, Zephaniah’s connection to Newham began in the late 70’s and early 80’s when he moved to the borough at the age of twenty-two and immersed himself in various community and social justice initiatives, including housing and food co-operatives. He was a Patron of the Newham Monitoring Project, Discover Children’s Story Centre, and Hibiscus Caribbean Elderly Association, and regularly taught at the Newham Black Performing and Visual Arts Workshop.
Event Details:
- Date: Saturday 21 March 2026 (World Poetry Day)
- Location: Stratford Library, Newham, East London
- Time: 2pm – 4pm (Including the launch of community film poetry, ‘Finding My Inner Peace’)